Kyle Rubalcava crouched down, bringing his near 6-foot frame to the ground. The middle school teacher and graduation photographer quickly shot a test photo, then told his clients to walk toward him on the count of three. Nine men stepped forward, adorned in ironed white button-up shirts, dark pants and leather shoes. Their shiny blue […]
Category Archives: Prime
PRIME: Waiting to be Seen
As 12-year-old me sank deeply into the couch, snug in old gym clothes and fluffy slippers, my mother asked why I stayed up late watching weird Asian cartoons. My father, an avid fan of anime since his teens, urged me to finish binge-watching his “Dragon Ball Z*” tapes as he shooed my mother away. Nagging […]
PRIME: Traveling Thoughts
When I landed in LA to start college at UCLA in the fall of 2016, I was ecstatic. I grew up in Boise, Idaho, a far cry from a big city, and the vastness and excitement of LA was almost overwhelming for me. But since those first days in Westwood, I began to feel as […]
PRIME: Recipes for Remembering
UCLA’s renowned dining halls dish up diverse and adventurous plates, but even its various and inviting menus don’t satiate the hunger I have for the food I grew up eating at home. I knew that with just one swipe, I was lucky to be eating a diverse amount of food, but I still felt I […]
PRIME: Destigmatizing Dependency
Drug dependency is defined as a state in which a person only functions normally in the presence of the drug, usually due to repeated use of the drug. According to the AddictionCenter from the Delphi Behavioral Health group, college students are one of the largest groups of people who misuse drugs in the United States […]
PRIME: I Miss the Old Kanye
The lights are off, and outside our apartment there’s nothing to be heard but crickets chirping and the occasional car driving through our small town, New Salem, Massachusetts. Yet inside, in the pitch black, my mom and I jump up and down, blasting Kanye West. My mom points at me and at the top of […]
PRIME: Records of Reflection
Sitting around a small fire in a friend’s backyard during winter break, I spun a marshmallow in my hand, unsure of how to answer the question: “How would you say you’ve changed over your first quarter of college?” Old friends, people I haven’t seen in months but have known for years, watched me as I […]